News
Enterprising exec Gallagher leaving SF
'Croix de Candlestick' and 'Crazy Crab' creator moving onBy Chris Haft / MLB.com
05/26/09 11:22 PM ET
SAN FRANCISCO -- Pat Gallagher, the executive whose promotional innovations will remain part of Giants lore forever, will leave the organization on June 30, the club announced Tuesday. Gallagher, who has been with the Giants for 32 years, was credited with initiating the "Croix de Candlestick" program in the early 1980s. Fans staying at Candlestick Park for the entirety of an extra-inning night game would receive a tiny orange button bearing the Giants' interlocking "SF" logo partially iced over. They couldn't be purchased, only earned, and became a treasured symbol among fans. Gallagher also was credited with bringing the "Crazy Crab" to Candlestick in 1984. While other franchises paraded costumed mascots, the Giants, knowing that their relatively sophisticated fan base never would accept such sideshows, introduced the Crab as the "anti-mascot" and encouraged fans to abuse him. Gallagher participated in the development of AT&T Park, which opened as Pacific Bell Park in 2000. His responsibilities included overseeing the new park's marketing plan, charter seat program, naming rights and corporate sponsorship programs. In 2000, Gallagher became president of Giants Development Services, LLC, a subsidiary of the club he created to develop non-baseball ventures and business opportunities for the company, including concerts and football games. Gallagher is chairman of the San Francisco Visitors and Convention Bureau and the city's Tourism Improvement District. He's also a board member of the California Chamber of Commerce and the Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame.Chris Haft is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
